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Dinner 2017 (Part 6)

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Thanks to my lovely wife I had my (belated) birthday dinner yesterday at Tin Lung Heen, one of the few Michelin-starred Cantonese restaurants in the city. The restaurant is located in the Ritz-Carlton Hong Kong, which in turn occupies to upper floors of the ICC in Kowloon. The view from the 102nd floor over Hong Kong island and the South China sea was spectacular and got even better after nightfall. Around 20.00h we could see the fireworks of Hong Kong Disneyland – from above!

We opted for the Signature dish degustation menu (the other two menus being the Michelin menu, which was more western oriented and the seasonal King crab menu). You could have a paired wine selection with it, but we had a glass of Champagne and my wife choose a Chablis to go with most courses while I was happy with Jasmine tea.

The amuse gueule was tofu, a carrot cube and a young onion bulb, all dressed in a sweet Pu’er dressing. It tasted exactly like it sounded. Tofu, boiled carrot and boiled onion. Diluted Pu’er with a bit of sugar. That was not a very good start into an exciting meal. Don’t get me wrong: I do like simplicity and unalduterated flavors, but this was just unexciting.

The three starters to follow were more pleasing: Abalone, jellyfish and lettuce hearts were a play on textural contrasts. The abalone was juicy, and the jellyfish crunchy.

The shrimp toast was very good.

The braised pork with honey was flavorful and juicy. This was announced as “the” signature dish of the restaurant. I think that while it was good it was simply a well executed braise. There was no “wow” effect to it …

Deep fried crab shell filled with crab meat & onion was very tasty – maybe my favorite plate of the evening. There was a lot of sweet crab meat with sweet onion in a slightly tangy sauce. It came with fried pink ginger crisps, which complemented the dish with a slight sharpness.

The double-boiled chicken soup gained a lot of sweetened from the coconut in which it was steamed for the second time. Initially I found it a bit weird, but it worked very well at the end. The fish maw had a interesting consistency, almost like braised fat. I liked it a lot, while my wife was happy to give me her portion of the maw.

Garoupa was perfectly cooked and flaky, with just the tiniest bit of garlic chicken consommé and strips of dried fried squid. The quality of the fish was very nice, although we were a bit irritated that the waiter had to emphasize several times that this was from a fresh fish and not from frozen. I’d never expect frozen fish in neither Cantonese settings nor in a two star Michelin place.

Fried Wagyu beef with red peppers and black beans was a well made, with the beef a bit undercooked and a nicely balanced sauce.

Bamboo fungus with spinach was ok, again a textural thing. The sauce was foamy with strong truffle aroma and a hint of mustard. It worked well with the spinach, and the bamboo fungus just offered a contrast with its kind of semi-tough, open foam mouthfeel.

The fried rice I found to be pretty standard. Very rich, with goose and shrimps added, but nothing out of the ordinary.

The desserts were all very good. The (cold) mango pomelo soup was great, with the astringency of the pomelo really underlining the sweetness of the mango and coconut cream. The sesame dumpling had a kind of grainy sweet custard filling, which reminded me a bit of dulce de leche. The petit fours were nice, too.

All in all a nice evening out of the routine in a beautiful setting. I am pretty sure we had well done renditions of classical Cantonese dishes and probably some of the ingredients were amongst the best the market has to offer. I enjoyed it. That being said on the way home my wife and me agreed that while we enjoyed it we do not need to repeat this experience and would rather go to a high-end Yakiniku place instead next time …

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Sorry to have disappeared again!Dealing with family health issues and also having to get a new laptop – I had problems finding a usable (for me) photo editing app.Found a way to get my old favorite Picasa onto my new computer, so I’m BACK!

Some recent dinners from our house include -

The inevitable salad:

And frozen chicken Kiev and basmati rice:

Honestly, I can’t see myself making chicken Kiev from scratch again as long as they make this product.It’s quite good and doesn’t require any work.I love to cook, but find stuffing chicken breasts much too fiddley. Served with some cheddar garlic biscuits left over from a dinner at Red Lobster (a gift card from a very nice person – the only decent part of the meal):

Another night we had some of the adequate tomatoes we’ve been getting:

So good!The first time that I tasted pork rillettes was in NOLA and I couldn’t figure out how something that is basically pork and pork fat could be that silky and smooth and not greasy feeling.I still can’t figure it out, but I’m sure glad someone closer than NOLA makes them!

This is a weird salad that I’ve posted before – iceberg with a dressing made of only cream, white vinegar and sugar.Shouldn’t be as good as it is.

Wine:

Chocolate cake from Wegman’s:

Since we were celebrating with family and friends a few days later, I just bought a cake for the actual day.It was actually very good.

My MIL made some Gazpacho – she even made some especially for me without bell peppers or jalapenos:

Another night was Anna’s Chicken Casserole:

Just a simple creamy chicken dish that my stepmom makes.

And, of course, a salad:

More of my MIL’s gazpacho:

Served with salad and cheese:

Lettuce greens with chicken, peaches and mozzarella.

Swiss and Goats R Us Pineapple and Walnut chevre.

Aged Gouda, Midnight Moon, Apple Walnut, Barely Buzzed, & Teahive.

A dinner after a trip to Reidsville NC to visit grandmother.Reidsville’s BBQ place is called Short Sugar’s – open since 1949 and my favorite BBQ.Nibble before dinner – Short Sugar’s pork rinds and Palmetto pimento cheese:

Short Sugar’s BBQ w/ slaw, baked beans and fried apples:

And pickles:

A welcome back dinner for our priest at our church – I made Colleyberry’s Shepherd’s Pie – a recipe given to me years ago by @Marlene:

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Here is something that I created over on FB for fun last weekend ( I think we could have some fum doing it here )

Called " Facebook Iron chef " Its probably more like a " chopped " competition -- Those that participated/ the first 4 to join the challenge got to choose an ingredient..of those first 4.. I would choose one to pick a protein..

So the competition( well we couldn't really pick a winner ) was to use the 4 ingredients at least and come up with a dish.. we posted by sept 3 at 7pm CDT

So--WE had Chickpeas/ corn/tomatoes and Scallops to use!!

My Dish is below:

Mine was -- i term hit on some and a big miss on one big thing ( Tomato foam-turned gel )

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Johnnybird is supposed to get home today - due back last Monday but various things came up - and I came home from a cruise with a case of the creeping crud that manifests itself as a cough. I haven't felt like anything but some chicken broth so that's what I have had...

I had picked up some shrimp on Tuesday - sautéed them off and they are in the fridge. I'm going to make a simple risotto with peas and fresh Italian parsley and basil from my tiny kitchen garden. I had some ground chicken I had picked up and used it to make a basic taco filling. I have spinach and tomato basil wraps to make some quesadillas. Local red leaf lettuce and some other local veg for a salad. At least two meals accounted for........

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Here is the first attempt at using the Cuisinart convection oven with steam. Well first attempt not counting an English Muffin for breakfast. It is a learning curve not as present as the Breville Smart Oven which is just a small oven which also toasts. I tried to do chicken wings with Korean seasoning. The Korean recipe is fried in oil and comes out crisp. The Cuisinart didn't do crispy. I should say I didn't do crispy this time. I need to experiment some more to get the best results with it but the chicken was moist, tasty and tender.

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Made a stew with a few chicken thighs, peppers, mushrooms, onions and garlic. Used chicken stock and and diced tomatoes to braise the chicken in before deboning the thighs. Hearty and made a good companion for garlic and olive loafs. Sopping up the liquid with the bread was the apex of the dish

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Here is the first attempt at using the Cuisinart convection oven with steam. Well first attempt not counting an English Muffin for breakfast. It is a learning curve not as present as the Breville Smart Oven which is just a small oven which also toasts. I tried to do chicken wings with Korean seasoning. The Korean recipe is fried in oil and comes out crisp. The Cuisinart didn't do crispy. I should say I didn't do crispy this time. I need to experiment some more to get the best results with it but the chicken was moist, tasty and tender.

For crispy chicken in the CSO: steam bake at 450 F. No oil, no nothing, except maybe dry spices (if one must) and a little salt...OK a lot of salt.

For thighs my current preference is 300 F, sacrificing some crispness for the most succulent flesh.

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Figured I needed to hit the freezer for a protein and hope we don't lose power for too long. To many good things in there.

I don't know if you are evacuating but we lost power for three days here in Costa Rica from a bad storm and I went to a nearby ice plant and bought all the ice cubes I can get. I filled every inch of our chest freezer and my refrigerator with ice. I didn't lose anything. Please know that you are in our thoughts and prayers.

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Sous vide lamb shoulder chops and broccoli cooked in the Thermomix. Still not happy with the lamb chops and next time will go for 24 hours. The broccoli however is extremely good. This is the second time I have cooked it in the Thermomix.

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I don't know if you are evacuating but we lost power for three days here in Costa Rica from a bad storm and I went to a nearby ice plant and bought all the ice cubes I can get. I filled every inch of our chest freezer and my refrigerator with ice. I didn't lose anything. Please know that you are in our thoughts and prayers.

We are staying put but boy things are deterating fast as the storm is tracking west instead of east. Interstate is a road block and gas is in short supply . Cars are on the side of the road on Interstate 75 having run out of gas. Hunkering down and hoping for the best

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Thinking of you during this scary time, @scubadoo97! And of all of the folks affected by nature lately and soon! I have family all over Florida, but a couple right above you in Palm Harbor, so I'll be watching your weather closely!

Dinner tonight:

D’Artagnan Merguez, roasted cauliflower and creamed corn. Considering that the second ingredient on the sausages was harissa, I figured they would be too hot for me and did an Old Bay shrimp boil. They weren’t too hot, so we shared. Served with the last of summer’s marinated cucumbers, a yogurt sauce, hummus and pita:

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We are staying put but boy things are deterating fast as the storm is tracking west instead of east. Interstate is a road block and gas is in short supply . Cars are on the side of the road on Interstate 75 having run out of gas. Hunkering down and hoping for the best

Keep your head down man. You are in my thoughts. I've never experienced more than a force 10 from inshore, can't imagine. Take care and keep us updated if you can. D

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Am watching the news and I'm praying for your safety and all of Florida. I know it is going to be horrible but at least it's fast moving and will get out of there soon. Please be safe. Will be thinking about you all day.